Department Contact:

Office Location:

University Center East Room 2208

812-464-1829

Epi-Hab Center for Disability Studies

Epi-Hab was originally a southwestern Indiana nonprofit organization formed to assist individuals diagnosed with epilepsy. Over time, the organization grew to include a sheltered workplace providing employment for those with disabilities of many kinds. In 1999, the Epi-Hab Board of Directors voted to dissolve the organization, sell its assets, and create the USI Epi-Hab Center for Disability Studies through the Vanderburgh Community Foundation and the USI Foundation. The Center is administered by Outreach and Engagement.

Primary aims of the Epi-Hab Center are to:

Provide scholarships to USI students. Currently, six $1,000 scholarships are awarded each year based upon applicant grades, community service, recommendations, and, most importantly, an essay describing how the student plans to use his or her education to have a positive impact on disability issues. The scholarships are not limited to students who have disabilities.

Provide funding for scholarly research and travel to present that research by USI faculty and their students.

Provide programs promoting awareness of disability issues to the campus and wider community.

Provide technology and other accommodations to assist USI students with disabilities. Examples include outfitting a number of lab computers with speech recognition software and purchasing a supply of Smartpens for notetaking, available for check out from the Disability Resources office. Our goal is to benefit many students; we do not provide technology or assistive devices to individual students.

We work closely with USI Disability Resources. To visit their site, click here.